You've come across a great deal regarding the use of slimming jabs to lose weight, it feels like the moment has come to give it a go ahead of the festive season. The problem is expense.
Yet it appears there are other options rather than obtaining a doctor's script and visiting the pharmacy. An SMS arrives giving a link to a website with more affordable medication – and requiring no necessity to navigate official channels. You also noticed a comparable advertisement on social media the other day, so you decide to take the plunge.
The problem is such promotions are highly likely to be scams. At best, you will be sent nothing and lose any funds you paid. In the worst, you receive a counterfeit item, containing unspecified components which may result in severe health problems.
The popularity of authentic weight loss medications has resulted in a rise in fake goods entering circulation and scams established to simply take consumers' cash.
Medical regulators have advised avoiding purchasing such unlawful weight loss medicines without a prescription from beauty salons, fake pharmacy websites or through social media, saying they could contain “harmful substances and additional components that could cause genuine injury”.
New figures from a major retail bank reveal a sharp rise in the number of customers who have been impacted by the scam. According to the bank, the total sum stolen through scams involving slimming jabs, injector pens, pills and fat-dissolving products between July and September , was more than double the total sum stolen in the prior quarter. Each incident typically costs victims £120, it says.
“Fraudsters are deliberately targeting individuals' self-doubts and medical worries, with such frauds skyrocketing in the past few months,” says a bank’s head of fraud.
What it looks like
The majority occur on communication platforms and social networks. On socials, an account may imitate the company that you are looking for, but there will typically be subtle differences in spelling or brand marks.
The messages or updates will often use pressure-inducing language such as “time-sensitive deal”, “special promotion” or “free giveaway”.
With the cost of some legitimate slimming injections, rose recently, the scammers will price their “product” lower.
“Purchasing from unapproved vendors on the internet can entail a serious monetary, health-related and psychological toll,” says the security specialist.
What to do
As with all scams, the wise saying applies: if it appears overly advantageous, then it probably is.
Medical authorities have cautioned people to be extremely cautious when purchasing medications via the web. These products must only be obtained from a licensed chemist with a valid script issued by a medical practitioner, it says. When procured from other sources, they may pose significant dangers to health.
Criminals can go to great lengths to design their webpage or social media page appear completely genuine. If they claim to be an internet-based chemist located within the UK, it's possible to verify the website of the pharmaceutical regulatory body to ensure they are properly registered.
